A New World: England's First View of America by Kim Sloan, Christian F. Feest (Contribution by), Joyce E. Chaplin (Contribution by)

Product Details

Synopsis

This beautifully illustrated book reproduces in full the famous and rarely seen British Museum collection of drawings and watercolors made by John White, who in 1585 accompanied a group of English settlers sent by Sir Walter Raleigh to found a colony on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. Sloan's introduction is followed by three specially commissioned essays covering John White himself, the indigenous inhabitants he depicted, and the historical context of his visit. The book explores John White's role as a colonist, surveyor, and artist who not only recorded plants and animals but also provided a window on a now-lost Native American culture and way of life. Oversize, with 185 color illustrations.

Elizabeth Salt - Library Journal

This masterfully crafted volume accompanies and complements an exhibit of John White's 16th-century artwork that opened recently at the British Museum. Compiled and partly written by Sloan (curator, Enlightenment Gallery, British Museum), it includes a catalog of all the artist's watercolors and drawings held at the museum. White's artwork provided residents of Elizabethan England with their first visual impressions of the plants, animals, and inhabitants of the Americas and showed them glimpses of environments and cultures very different from their own (he participated in five voyages to the Americas during the 1580s). In introductory chapters, Sloan and three prominent historical scholars provide background information on what is known about White's life and art, the Elizabethan context of his work, the lifestyles of the Algonquin Native Americans with whom he came into contact, and the engravings of his paintings. Together, they have done an outstanding job of insightfully presenting White's work in the context of his time while also showing its historical relevance. An extremely well-written and well-researched work with excellent art reproductions (185, in color), copious endnotes, and an extensive bibliography; very highly recommended for history and art collections in academic and large public libraries.

Biography

Kim Sloan is curator of British drawings and watercolors and Francis Finlay Curator of the Enlightenment Gallery in the British Museum. Her three previous books include "A Noble Art": Amateur Artists and Drawing Masters, c. 1600-1800.